


You Give Me Problems

by tenpercentbatteryremaining (Louiseeeee)



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Aaron gets shot but doesn't die don't worry, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-18
Updated: 2015-01-18
Packaged: 2018-03-08 00:36:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3189230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Louiseeeee/pseuds/tenpercentbatteryremaining
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The idea was given to me by @stulot on tumblr who said she had a dream that Aaron got shot by Katie at Robert's wedding.</p><p>Don't worry though, it's as light-hearted as a fic about someone getting shot can get.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Give Me Problems

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Don't own Emmerdale, just using their characters as attractive puppets.
> 
> Also, I know next to nothing about what happens when someone gets shot in the shoulder so just read it with an open mind.

Robert was anxious. Really anxious. 

Here he was, standing at the altar with Chrissie and he couldn't take his mind off the man sitting in the aisle seat of the front row. 

Was he doing the right thing? He couldn't even look at Chrissie and they'd be asked to state their vows at any second. He glanced over at Aaron quickly to see that he was looking at his own hands which were clenched tightly together. In that moment Robert felt like his heart was in between Aaron's hands. In the literal sense he felt like his heart was being constricted and squeezed, the nerves inside him building up. In the metaphorical sense, Aaron had possession over his heart; he felt like his heart _belonged_ to Aaron.

He couldn't do this, he had to-

Suddenly the doors at the back of the church flew open and at first Robert let out a sigh of relief at the distraction, thankful he had time to plan out his next move. That was until he noticed that it was Katie who had gate-crashed his wedding.

And- oh, oh fuck. She had a gun.

All hell broke loose, mothers throwing themselves over their children, fathers doing their best to protect their loved ones. There was the deafening sound of screaming, shouting.

People from Chrissie's side of the family were starting to head for the side doors to the church, while others who were still in shock were being begged to get themselves to safety as Katie made her way down the, thankfully, long aisle of the church. Those who knew her stayed where they were, yelling at her to stop and think about what she was doing.

Yet, Robert was frozen. His eyes following the mad woman walking angrily towards him, waving the gun around while still somehow managing to keep it pointed in his direction.

His mind was blank, but he could see Aaron in the corner of his vision, crouched low on his seat, watching Katie gradually getting closer.  
Chrissie and all her bridesmaids were huddled together, crying and terrified, Ashley was trying to move them all towards the side door. Chrissie was shouting Robert's name, horrified, telling him to move out of the road, but he didn't hear her. He could only hear Katie yelling at him, even then it was only every other word or so.

_Hate. Ruined. Revenge. Cheat. Lies. Scum._

Andy was running along the outside of the pews, planning to reach Katie from behind, shouting her name and begging her to put the gun down.

Finally, Robert found his voice and he took a step towards Katie, his hands in the air. "Put- put the gun down. Katie, please!"

"Get back, Robert! GET BACK!" Katie screamed. "You've been making my life a misery, and now it's time I return the favour!"

Katie was getting closer and closer and Robert was panicking. He didn't want to die; he was young, and he had to tell Aaron...

Robert saw a blur move in front of the alter, at the bottom of the steps where he was standing. He then realised it was Aaron, blocking Katie's path to Robert.

"Katie, wait, please!"

At that moment, Andy reached Katie from behind and grabbed her around the middle.

Startled, Katie fired the gun.

And Aaron fell.

~*~*~

Robert felt as though he watched the whole ordeal happen in slow motion, and then he was moving, moving and screaming Aaron's name even though all he could hear was white noise. Within a few steps Robert was standing on the carpet by Aaron's head and then he was kneeling, and there was blood, a lot of blood.

"Aaron?! Aaron?! Can you hear me? Talk to me, AARON?!"

Aaron's eyes fluttered open and Robert finally felt like he could breathe.

"I'm okay, Robert. I'm okay." Aaron's face was screwed up in pain, tears already making their way down the side of his face.

"You're not okay, you were fucking shot." Robert was starting to notice his vision was blurry from the tears that were gathering in his eyes.

Aaron winced and Robert paled when he saw Aaron was holding his shoulder, his hand red. He pulled off his suit jacket and haphazardly folded it and placed it under Aaron's hand, replacing it with his own and holding it down.

This is what they did right? He was sure he had seen it on TV.

By now others had stumbled their way out of the pews and were gathered around Aaron, crying and yelling. Paddy had taken over the job of holding Robert's jacket onto Aaron's shoulder and Chas was stroking her son's hair, comforting him. Robert was relieved to notice that Adam was shouting down his phone for an ambulance; Robert hadn't been allowed his phone on him.

Robert continued to watch Aaron's face, wiping away the tears that were on his cheeks. "You're going to be alright, Aaron, you'll be fine."  
Aaron blinked his eyes open again, causing some fresh tears to fall. He tried to smile at Robert which only caused Robert to let out a sob and grab Aaron's free hand.

Robert heard Chas talking to Aaron to keep him alert till the ambulance arrived and he turned his head to look at the person responsible for all this. Andy was holding her back from the scene, her face pale. The gun was lying on the floor.

"Look, what you've done, you crazy bitch!" Robert could hear his voice breaking, the crying making his voice sound warped.

"The safety- I thought, I thought the safety was on, I-"

"WELL YOU THOUGHT WRONG!" Robert yelled. "I hope you rot in jail for this for the rest of your life! If any- anything happens to him, I will make sure myself that you PAY!"

The noise and panic in the church was now reduced to a minimum, many of the guests who weren't as close to Aaron had left the second the gun was out of Katie's hand, desperate to get their loved ones to safety.

Robert understood. If he had known, he would have grabbed Aaron the second he heard the scrape of the door opening, and ran.

To Robert's relief the sound of sirens was becoming louder and louder and Katie was being dragged outside by Andy.

Suddenly there was a hand on Robert's shoulder and he jumped. Turning around he saw it was just Chrissie... Fuck, Chrissie!

"Honey, come on, lets go wait outside and leave Aaron with his family."

"No!" Robert surprised himself and everyone with his instant response. He heard it faintly repeated behind him by Aaron himself. Paddy was the only one in the group who didn't look like they'd just witnessed the second coming of Christ.

Robert wasn't sure how to explain to his...Chrissie that he wanted to stay holding his secret lover's hand, but he didn't have to because the next second two paramedics were flying through the church doors and moving everyone away from Aaron.

The paramedics kept assuring everyone that as long as they got Aaron into surgery as soon as possible he was more than likely to be alright. As the stretcher was being rolled outside, Robert returned to Aaron's side and gave his hand one last squeeze, telling him he'd follow in his car, knowing that there's no way in hell Chas would let him ride in the ambulance. Aaron saw through the confident façade Robert was wearing and grabbed his hand again before he could completely take it away.

"I'll be alright, Robert, I swear." he whispered.

Looking up at Chas and Paddy (Adam had already left for the hospital with Victoria, hoping to get there in time with the ambulance), who were watching him curiously, Robert only hesitated for a moment before kissing Aaron's hand and placing it back at his side.

"I'll be right behind you."

Robert stood and watched as the stretcher was lifted into the ambulance, Chas and Paddy settling in beside it. The minute the doors to the ambulance were closed, Robert turned around to head to the car that he was supposed to drive to his honeymoon in. At least it will be useful for something.

Before he could even take a step though, Chrissie was in front of him holding his blood soaked suit jacket that the paramedics had returned when they placed something a bit more appropriate on Aaron's wound. She looked pale and in shock but she still managed to sound strong when she spoke.

"I'm coming with you. And I want answers."

~*~*~

Despite Chrissie's words, the majority of the drive to the hospital was silent. Robert was too focused on keeping his eye on the speed he was going. The last thing he needed was to be pulled over.

There were a couple of times that Chrissie opened her mouth as if to start talking, but then she'd change her mind. Robert figured that she was just as scared to know the answer as he was to tell it.

Robert's jacket was sitting in a carrier bag at Chrissie's feet and she was staring at it when she finally spoke.

"This isn't how I imagined our first ride in this car."

Robert stayed silent.

Another few minutes passed.

"I didn't realise you and Aaron were so close."

Robert sighed.

"Yeah."

The rest of the trip was silent.

~*~*~

At the hospital, Aaron had been rushed straight into surgery. Chas, Paddy, Adam and Victoria had been told that they'd be given an update as soon as possible and now they were all anxiously seated in the waiting area which was surprisingly quiet.

Chas was the first to burst.

"What the hell was that with Robert?!"

Aaron and Victoria shrugged while Paddy cleared his throat and pointedly avoided looking at Chas. She frowned at Paddy's behaviour and looked towards Adam. "Have they become good friends without me noticing?!"

Adam furrowed his eyebrows together, thinking. "They meet up a lot without me to go over extra things since Aaron has more free time than me, so they must have become closer than we all thought. They do get on surprisingly well. Robert's always trying to make Aaron laugh and...he does. They have inside jokes and sometimes get distracted talking about cars." Adam started laughing. "If Robert wasn't straight and engaged to Chrissie, you'd think they were dating!"

At this Paddy started having a coughing fit, his eyes flitting all over the room, avoiding everyone's gaze.

"Paddy?" Chas asked, concerned.

"What? I'm fine, I'm fine." Paddy was still looking away. "I don't know anything. Need anything, I mean. It's not like there's- there's anything to know...or anything."

Chas was up out of her seat instantly, standing intimidatingly above Paddy, staring him down. "What do you know, Paddy?!"

Paddy looked at Chas then immediately away again. "No-nothing. There's nothing too know, I-"

"Paddy!" Chas was giving him her most threatening look. Paddy slowly raised his eyes to meet Chas' and when he saw the look on her face, he blurted out the truth.

"RobertandAaronaresleepingtogether."

"Robert and Aaron are WHAT?!"

"They're sl-"

"I heard what you said, Paddy!" Chas' hands were in her hair, repeating Paddy's words over and over again. She didn't want to believe it, but, thinking about it, it made sense.

Aaron had been so secretive and suddenly Robert was crying over Aaron's wounded body.

Robert fucking Sugden was the guy Chas had suspected Aaron had been seeing this whole time. Robert. Sugden. Resident _asshole_.

Suddenly, she couldn't hold it in any longer.

"ROBERT SUGDEN IS SLEEPING WITH MY SON?!"

The sound of shoes squeaking to a halt on the linoleum floor behind her had her spinning on her feet.

There stood Robert with a shocked look on his face, his eyes wide and jaw dropped. The blood gone from his face.

And beside him was Chrissie, her face incredulous.

"What did you just say?!"

~*~*~

Once making their way into the hospital, Robert and Chrissie were directed by the receptionist to the waiting room where everyone was sitting. Just as they turned the corner Robert heard the words which made his blood run cold.

"ROBERT SUGDEN IS SLEEPING WITH MY SON?!"

Robert stopped in his tracks, noticing that Chrissie did the same. He was in shock, how did Chas know?! No one had known right?! Was he that obvious earlier?!

"What did you just say?!" Chrissie's voice broke Robert from his reverie.

Chrissie switched from staring at Chas to Robert. His mouth tried to form words but his attempt was futile.

"Is that true Robert?! It's not, is it. Tell me she's lying, Robert. Robert?"

Robert looked around at those in the room. Chas was glaring at him, arms folded on her chest. It was clear she had made her mind up on whether it was true or not and wasn't at all pleased about it. His eyes then fell on his sister who just looked really confused. He couldn't blame her. Adam was sitting looking defensive, it was obvious that he too wasn't keen on the idea of Robert being with Aaron either. The redness of Paddy's face was what gave away to Robert that it was him who had told Chas about him and Aaron. How he knew though, Robert wasn't sure.

Finally, Robert looked at Chrissie. Her face displayed a mix of desperation, anger and disbelief. Despite the doubt, Robert knew Chrissie was a smart woman. She must have considered it after how he reacted to Aaron being shot. He must have been a state, and he still was panicking inside since Aaron was obviously in surgery right now.

Either way, she would know now. She would know that he had been unfaithful. He had fucked someone else, and on top of that, had fallen for someone that wasn't her.

Realising he had been silent for too long, Robert finally answered her.

"She's not lying, Aaron and I-"

Chrissie slapped Robert right across the face.

"I know I deserved that." Robert stated, holding his face. "I'm sorry, Chrissie, I really am. I was about to tell you when- when Katie..."

Robert trailed off, feeling a lump starting to form in his throat. He turned to Chas.

"Just tell me, how is he? Is he going to be okay?"

"They haven't told us much but he's in surgery right now and they're hopeful. They're coming with an update soon." she told him, coldly.

"Good, thats good." letting out a breath, Robert turned to Chrissie again. "Chrissie, I-"

"You're gay?!" She interrupted.

"No, bisexual-"

"Were you ever going to tell me?!"

Robert just looked away.

"And how long have you been seeing Aaron?"

"A- a few months."

Chrissie looked absolutely furious. "And you were actually going to stop the wedding to be with him?"

Robert nodded his head. He suddenly felt like he couldn't look at Chrissie anymore, or anyone for that matter, but it was true. He had been about to walk out of his own wedding, hopefully with Aaron by his side.

"We can t-talk about this later," the sound of Chrissie beginning to cry was what made Robert finally look up from his feet. "But right now I want to go home."

"Take the car, I'll get a taxi." Robert held out the keys to her and Chrissie snatched them from his hands. "I want you to know Chrissie that I do care about you, but I just...I feel more like myself around Aaron than I've ever felt with anyone. You deserve someone who's like that with you."

Robert was starting to tear up as well at the sight of Chrissie looking so upset. It was his fault, and he knew that, but right now he couldn't feel much but worry for the man lying on an operating table right now.

"I know I do. Fuck you, Robert. Your stuff will be outside waiting for you when you get home." Chrissie started to walk away but stopped and turned around. "Oh, and I'd start job searching if I was you."

The moment the lift door closed behind Chrissie, Robert felt like he could relax. That was until he turned around and saw a group of stony faces watching him.

"Uh, can I sit?"

~*~*~

Robert sighed and shifted in his seat. It had been over an hour now that they had been sitting waiting for an update on Aaron's condition. Most of that time had been spent in silence, though he had received a hurried apology from Paddy, who explained that Aaron had accidentally confided in him a month ago or so.

Gradually, more and more of Aaron's family members had joined them in the waiting area. Every one of them had given Robert a strange look when they saw him sitting there and after a couple of whispered conversations with Chas, all of them knew why.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, a doctor rounded the corner and all of the twenty or so people in the room stood up simultaneously, anxiously looking at the doctor for information.

The doctor looked startled. "Well, there's more of you than there was last time I was here. Okay, so Mr Livesy is doing fine. The surgery to remove the bullet went really well and he should heal up in no time. A bit of physical therapy to restrengthen the muscle and he'll be as good as new."

The whole room sighed in relief and Robert felt like he could cry with happiness. Aaron was fine. His Aaron was fine.

"There was a moment we were afraid that he might have lost too much blood, but whoever it was that put pressure on the wound so soon to stop some of the bleeding is someone you should really all be thanking right now."

Those who had been at the wedding turned around and looked at Robert. His face was shocked, as was everyone else's. Robert couldn't believe that it had been _him_ , something _he_ had done, that had given Aaron a better chance of surviving.

Suddenly Chas' arms were around Robert and she was speaking into his ear. "Thank you, Robert. I may fucking hate what you've been doing with my son...but, thank you."

Barely had time to return the hug before Chas was pulling away, wiping her eyes. Adam gave him a pat on the back which he replied to with a weak smile, running his hands down his face to stop himself crying again.

The doctor cleared his throat before continuing. "Mr Livesy should be awake soon. Parents can follow me."

Chas moved to follow, before turning around and grabbing Paddy. "You're the closest thing he has to a dad, Paddy, you're coming as well."

Once they'd turned down the corner, everyone else left in the waiting room sat back down, finally able to relax.

Robert leaned his head back against the hospital wall, reminding himself to breathe slowly in and out, repeating over and over again that Aaron was safe.

He felt a weight on his shoulder and saw it was his sister's head. Adam had left to go get some drinks for them both, giving her the chance to finally comfort her brother, something no one had been doing. She could only imagine how he felt, what it would have been like if it was Adam lying in a hospital bed with a bullet hole in his shoulder.

"Talk to me, Robert." She whispered.

So he did.

~*~*~

True to the doctor's words, it wasn't long before Aaron's eyelids were fluttering open to the bright light of the hospital room.

"Aaron? Aaron?"

He could hear his Mum's voice calling for him and he soon realised that she was sitting beside the bed and the weight in his hand was her own.

"Mum?"

Paddy ran out of the room, saying he'll go let the doctor know he was awake.

"Aaron, honey, are you feeling alright? Does it hurt?"

Finally focusing on his Mum's face, he saw her worry. "I'm fine, Mum, it doesn't hurt as much anymore. I'm sure it has something to do with that." He motioned towards the IV drip. His shoulder felt...heavy and uncomfortable but the majority of the searing pain that he had felt before was gone. He was fine, and he was alive.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Aaron." Tears were once again making their way down Chas' cheeks. "Don't you dare walk in front of a gun again, you hear me?!"

"I promise. What happened to Katie anyway?"

"We heard she was taken away by the police not long after we left in the ambulance."

"Good riddance."

"Too right."

Just then the doctor reappeared, talking Aaron through the surgery and what his next steps should be. He was to spend one night in the hospital just so they could keep an eye on him and then he'd be free to go.

Just as the doctor was leaving Chas, Paddy and Aaron to their celebrations, he let them know that he could have a few more visitors if he was feeling up to it.

"You have an entire army waiting outside there for you, Aaron. Do you want me to get Adam?" The thought of all the visitors sitting outside the room reminded Chas of one person in particular. She wasn't sure she should put all Aaron through all the emotional turmoil that letting him know that his secret affair with Robert was out in the open would surely bring.

She saw a look pass over her son's face, and she sighed. So much for that then. She could read her son well enough to know what he was about to ask.

Aaron was touched to hear that so many members of his family had gathered outside, waiting to see him. But his mind kept turning to one person in particular, one person who had promised they'd follow the ambulance in their car. But it had been a couple of hours, maybe they'd got bored and left. Or maybe he saw all Aaron's family and didn't want to deal with all the questions that were sure to arrive with his presence. Maybe he was at home with his fiancé, setting a new wedding date.

Still, he had to know.

"Is, um, Robert here?" he asked, fiddling with the sheet on his bed.

"Yeah."

Aaron smiled, turning to look at his Mum to ask her to bring Robert in. He wasn't sure what excuse he should give but-

The look on his Mum's face made him pause. She was looking at him very pointedly and-

Shit.

Aaron quickly turned to look at Paddy, who was standing looking sheepishly out of the window.

Oh, _shit_.

~*~*~

The sound of Chas' heels making their way towards them had everyone in the waiting area on their feet again. Robert would have found it amusing if he wasn't so worried.

Finally, she appeared around the corner.

"Robert."

Confused, Robert took a couple of steps forward.

"Yeah?"

"He wants to see you."

~*~*~

Following Chas into the room to see Aaron sitting up in bed, eyes open and alert, was such a relief.

"Hey," he smiled at his... Aaron. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay." Aaron smiled back.

Robert walked further into the room and sat on the side of the bed opposite to Aaron's wounded shoulder, afraid he might jostle it.

"Seriously though, you are an idiot for walking in front of the gun, what were you thinking?"

"I was trying to stop her from getting to you! I thought she was going to kill you."

Robert saw the tears gathering in Aaron's eyes and grabbed his hand again, just like he had at the church. "I got that, Aaron, and you don't know how grateful that makes me feel, but," Robert was finding it hard to speak now, the familiar lump in his throat returning and bringing with it fresh tears. "I could have lost you in the process, and that wouldn't have been worth it."

Aaron started smiling through his tears. "For me it would have been."

Robert shook his head, but he was smiling. "I guess we'll just have to agree that neither of us will end up in a life threatening situation ever again. Pinkie promise?"

Aaron rearranged their hands so that only their pinkie fingers were entwined. "Pinkie promise."

The sound of sniffling from Chas- and Paddy- reminded the pair that they weren't alone.

"Mum, Paddy, do you mind giving us a minute?"

Once they had left the room, Aaron finally felt ready to address what he had really wanted to talk about.

Taking a deep breath he began. "So, Mum says Chrissie knows."

Robert huffed out a laugh. "At this point I think the whole village knows."

Aaron was taken aback. "What? Mum just told me that you and Chrissie arrived at the hospital to her yelling about what Paddy told her and that Chrissie slapped you and went home."

"Well, yeah, that happened. Then your mum basically told the whole story to anyone who entered the waiting area from that point onwards." Robert shrugged, still watching his and Aaron's hands.

"I'm sorry."

Robert looked up and saw the worried look on Aaron's face. "Don't be. I was actually just about to tell Chrissie at the wedding before, you know..." Robert's eyes flickered to the bandages on Aaron's shoulder.

"You...you were?" Aaron bit his lip to stop himself from smiling.

"Yeah." A smile formed on Robert's face as he looked from Aaron's lips to his eyes. He may be trying to conceal his smile, but Aaron's eyes gave the game away. "I couldn't marry her when I'm obviously head over heels for you."

Aaron felt like his heart was about to give out, the butterflies in his stomach were going a hundred miles an hour and he was blushing. Fucking, blushing.

"Kiss me, you idiot."

So Robert did. He kissed the mischievous smile right off Aaron's face.

"You know- you know... that I'm completely... head ov-over heels... for you too, right?" Aaron managed to get out in between kisses, his lips still completely pressed against Robert's.

Robert laughing is what finally broke them apart. "I think I managed to figure out what you were saying, and well, yeah, I had hoped so."

Aaron laughed and shifted, wincing suddenly at the movement of the shoulder.

"Hey, hey, relax you. Do you want to sleep or will I bring in the rest of your family?" Robert asked, getting off the bed to help Aaron adjust his pillows.

"Well, I'd rather it just be us two..." Robert grinned and rolled his eyes. "But I guess I'd better give them a small morsel of my precious time."

Robert laughed out loud and held Aaron's face between his hands, placing a strong kiss on his lips. "Careful, that sounds like something I'd say. Don't make them say I'm a bad influence on you."

Aaron rolled his eyes and shoved Robert's chest. "Sod off, you."

"Yeah, yeah. You say that now." Robert winked at Aaron as he walked out backwards towards the door. He leaned his weight on it, causing it to open slightly but Robert didn't walk through it just yet.

"Hey, um, do you want to go on a date sometime. In public?"

Aaron watched the man in front of him, standing in the crack of artificial lighting coming through the small opening in the door. Aaron looked at the man who's clothes had dark patches of Aaron's blood on it and who's eyes were red and sunken. Aaron studied the man who's hair was a complete mess, his own hands having steered it in a thousand different directions. And finally, Aaron smiled at the man who looked perfect to Aaron. As always.

Aaron beamed at the man he loved so much he had taken a bullet for.

"I do."

Robert gave him the middle finger.


End file.
